New warehouse set for Montgomery

Tuesday

Mar 26, 2013 at 2:00 AMMar 26, 2013 at 2:26 PM

TOWN OF MONTGOMERY — An approximately 500,000-square-foot natural foods warehouse that almost landed in the Town of Newburgh — but pulled out after blowback from neighbors — will occupy a 110-acre swath of land on Neelytown Road.

JESSICA DiNapoli

TOWN OF MONTGOMERY — An approximately 500,000-square-foot natural foods warehouse that almost landed in the Town of Newburgh — but pulled out after blowback from neighbors — will occupy a 110-acre swath of land on Neelytown Road.

United Natural Foods plans to begin construction on the warehouse as soon as July, according to its application filed Monday with the Town of Montgomery Planning Board.

The $55 million distribution center will open by the fall of 2014, and possibly expand to 668,000 square feet in the next few years.

The sprawling building, featuring 49 truck bays and 650 parking spots, eventually will employ more than 360 people, according to a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. There will be jobs for 331 people within the first two years, according to the state.

The company, the main distributor for Whole Foods Market, will receive $3.6 million in tax credits through the state's Excelsior Jobs Program.

The Town of Montgomery Industrial Development Agency also has been discussing financial incentives with United Natural Foods, said town Supervisor Michael Hayes. A 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement is on the table.

United Natural Foods has been hunting for space in Orange County since July, said Orange County Partnership President and CEO Maureen Halahan.

The company planned to build on a piece of land behind a strip club on Route 17K in the Town of Newburgh, but canceled a Planning Board appearance after community opposition and zoning issues surfaced.

Natural Foods then considered both the Neelytown Road property it ultimately selected and land in Goshen, Halahan said.

The county was competing against Pennsylvania for the project, said Orange County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director James O'Donnell. "Orange County's assets won the day," he said. "We're close to their markets."

A handful of neighbors of the project came to listen to a presentation on the warehouse at a Town of Montgomery Planning Board meeting Monday night. They plan to attend future public hearings and oppose the development.

"We've been fighting this since Panattoni," said Joanne Weber, who lives on Beaver Dam Road.

Panattoni Development Co., a national developer, planned to build an approximately 450,000-square-foot warehouse on the land but never found a company to occupy the space.

United Natural Foods is now in contract to buy the land, said attorney Dominic Cordisco.

The deal only will close if United Natural Foods receives municipal approval, said commercial real estate broker RJ Smith, whose real estate firm is handling the deal.

United Natural Foods, which is publicly traded, is planning a multiyear expansion project with new distribution centers across the country, according to its public filings.

An extended contract with Whole Foods and increased distribution into conventional supermarkets have fueled the company's growth. Whole Foods plans to add 350 more stores in the next five years, said Dan Peckskamp, the company's director of real estate and construction, during the planning board meeting. United Natural Foods places distribution centers near Whole Foods, he said.

He did not know whether or not one of the upscale natural and organic grocery stores would open in Orange County.

The Montgomery distribution center will serve the metropolitan New York area, according to a statement from the state.

The company plans to pursue the gold level in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the warehouse. Peckskamp said at the meeting the company also is considering using solar to power the warehouse and, down the road, using natural gas to fuel some of the trucks.